Moderators Travis In Austin Posted August 15, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 15, 2006 Nice to see reel to reel is still alive....But I,m getting out..Sold my Ampex 440 & Technics 1500. Sold my Sennheiser & Neumam mics. Now I,m looking for a buyer for my master tapes (19 yrs worth) No problems with oxide, no stickys...All live recordings of the St louis Philharmonic. Ive been givin permission to get rid of them. I just sold all of my commercial prerecorded tapes. RCA, Col. Barkley Crocker etc etc. If any body is interested ?? send me a PM What tape are they on, half track or quarter track, speed? Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted August 16, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2006 Stay away from Scotch . . . Is that what you advise all your clients ??? Yes for sure, whenever they ask what kind of booze they can bring me as an extra gift I tell them NO SCOTCH, please bring Bourbon, preferably Booker's. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuned4life Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I have 2 silverface teac x-2000R's. I drove to boston to pick up my first X-2000R from original owner. He bought it and 2 cases (20 reels) of maxell 35-180 XLII EE tape. He recorded 3 tapes and never used deck again. the second X 2000R I bought came A large chemical company in Niagara falls. They used it one time to record the Niagara Falls festival of lights. Both machines like brand new with original boxes. The cabinets I have them in are from the earlier X 10R model. The X 10r cabinets are solid wood constuction. The x 2000R cabinets were made with particle board and in my opinion not near the quality of the earlier cabinets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I always stayed away from 456...Didnt want to bias that high, didnt need to. I guess i was lucky with no tape problems....Basf did put out a warning even about there tape & offered bake procedures. I used Maxell, Scotch, Ampex, Irish, TDK, Always second tier oxides. Not the super bias hot designs. I was told this saved my collection. A friend of mine in Chicago had to bake all of his tapes...456.. & transfer to newer tape. It cost him plenty.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Maron, did you get my PM? Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 LarryC........No !!!! Did you get my phone number PM reply ????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 No, and I just checked! E-mail me at larryclare@aol.com. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesboy Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Check this out. I've been recording Jazz and Blues CD's onto my friend's X-2000 from his Jolida tube output player and playing them back at home on my Pioneer RT-909 reel to reel. The sound is amazing. I've just about quit spinning vinyl in favor of listening to tapes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I had to throw out most of my Ampex 456 back in the late '80s. I had switched to it for a while from Maxell, figuring it was more pro. The joke was on me when all the Maxell remained robust and the supposedly pro tape was squealing garbage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted August 16, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2006 I have 2 silverface teac x-2000R's. I drove to boston to pick up my first X-2000R from original owner. He bought it and 2 cases (20 reels) of maxell 35-180 XLII EE tape. He recorded 3 tapes and never used deck again. the second X 2000R I bought came A large chemical company in Niagara falls. They used it one time to record the Niagara Falls festival of lights. Both machines like brand new with original boxes. The cabinets I have them in are from the earlier X 10R model. The X 10r cabinets are solid wood constuction. The x 2000R cabinets were made with particle board and in my opinion not near the quality of the earlier cabinets. Very sweet!!!! Looks very nice. There is a "new" still in the plastic never used black X-2000 on ebay, I bet it goes for over $1,500. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted August 16, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2006 I always stayed away from 456...Didnt want to bias that high, didnt need to. I guess i was lucky with no tape problems....Basf did put out a warning even about there tape & offered bake procedures. I used Maxell, Scotch, Ampex, Irish, TDK, Always second tier oxides. Not the super bias hot designs. I was told this saved my collection. A friend of mine in Chicago had to bake all of his tapes...456.. & transfer to newer tape. It cost him plenty.. Lucky, lucky, lucky you. I wish I had known what we all know now. My Dad worked at Ampex, left by the late 70's but he had a bunch of friends there so there was always tons, of 456 laying around our house. Needless to say a good half of that has ended up in the garbage. Irish is great tape, Ampex bought that plant in 'Bama from the Col. to get into the tape business. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 I have 2 silverface teac x-2000R's. I drove to boston to pick up my first X-2000R from original owner. He bought it and 2 cases (20 reels) of maxell 35-180 XLII EE tape. He recorded 3 tapes and never used deck again. the second X 2000R I bought came A large chemical company in Niagara falls. They used it one time to record the Niagara Falls festival of lights. Both machines like brand new with original boxes. The cabinets I have them in are from the earlier X 10R model. The X 10r cabinets are solid wood constuction. The x 2000R cabinets were made with particle board and in my opinion not near the quality of the earlier cabinets. What other treasures do you have out there in western New York............you keep rolling out this equipment.................Marantz's.........now TEAC's.............what else do you have stashed away?....................Always hated Scotch Tapes, never likes BASF either........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Oldbuck.....You have to calibrate the recorder to the tape... Always...Some tapes run hotter....Some can be hit harder without tape saturation...Did you EQ for each formulation of tape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Where do get the recordings for reel to reel? Here is exerpt wikipedia on the topic of reel to reel " Inexpensive reel-to-reel tape recorders were widely used for voice recording in the home and in schools before the advent of the Philips "compact cassette" in 1963. Cassettes quickly displaced reel-to-reel recorders for consumer use. However, the narrow tracks and slow recording speeds used in cassettes compromised fidelity. Following the example set by Bing Crosby, high-speed reel-to-reel tape recorders rapidly became the main recording format used by audiophiles and professional recording studios until the late 1980s, when digital audio recording techniques began to allow the use of other types of media (such as DAT cassettes and hard disks). Even today, many artists of all genres swear by the analog tape's "musical", "natural" and especially "warm" sound. Due to harmonic distortion, bass can thicken up, creating the illusion of a fuller sounding mix. In addition, high end can be slightly compressed, which is more natural to the human ear. It is common for artists to record to digital and re-record the tracks to analog reels for this effect of "natural" sound. In addition to all of these attributes of tape, tape saturation is a unique form of distortion that many rock and blues artists find very pleasing. Today, Reel to Reel tapes are still popular among many Collectors" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 I talked with Maron last night -- his tapes of the St Louis Symphony are 2-track stereo, and my Revox is 4-track. While I'll bet those sound sensational, I've never had a 2-track playback machine. Would anyone be in a position to transfer selected tapes from his collection to CDs or DVDs, or is that a good idea? Do any of these machines for sale have a 2-track playback head? Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Oldbuck.....You have to calibrate the recorder to the tape... Always...Some tapes run hotter....Some can be hit harder without tape saturation...Did you EQ for each formulation of tape? I would have to say NO, it was almost 30 years ago, I just didn't care for those tapes, they always seemed thinner, and they didn't store well. It doesn't matter Open Reel or Cassette, I always had best luck with TDK or Maxell, quality products in my book. Funny thing is the guy I sold my deck to, still has and uses it, after all this time, unbelievable. Had a lot of pre-recorded tapes too, they always sounded good.....Led Zep II on pre-recorded open reel at that time was awesome......So was CSNY Deja vu...........old news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 I talked with Maron last night -- his tapes of the St Louis Symphony are 2-track stereo, and my Revox is 4-track. While I'll bet those sound sensational, I've never had a 2-track playback machine. Would anyone be in a position to transfer selected tapes from his collection to CDs or DVDs, or is that a good idea? Do any of these machines for sale have a 2-track playback head? I would recommend purchasing a Revox PR99, like I used to have, on eBay. Mine was half track (AKA 2-track) and I believe all PR99s were half track. You need only a playback unit, not the much more expensive record and play unit. You can get these for only a couple hundred bucks sometimes, a tenth of what they were new! It is an amazing machine, with quality out the yin yang. I would not transfer the tapes to CDR unless you plan to play the hell out of them. It's good for tape to be exercised now and then and in the process of analog-digital conversion there is always the real possibility of magic being lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 The revox 99 was built in the Studer plant......The Technics 1500 has both 1/2 & 1/4 track stereo playback heads. This was my favorite recorder....I also had Ampex 440....and Crown 800. Both 1/2 track stereo recoeders I also recommend Otari 5050 mk ll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted August 18, 2006 Moderators Share Posted August 18, 2006 Where do get the recordings for reel to reel? Jacksonbart, I am not sure what you were asking? Do you mean prerecorded tapes or blank tape? Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 New to the forum! Really enjoying some of the subjects and threads. I got back into 2 channel a couple of years ago and one of my first purchases was to buy back my Teac 3300S I had given to a friend ( I gave him 3 classical CDs). I sent the Teac to a former Dokorder troubleshooter in Florida who got it back in shape for me. Later I bought a Teac X-10 off ebay so that I could record back and forth. The pinch roller was frozen in place because the grease hardend from lack of use. Another deck to Kevin to do all the repairs and maintenance. Cosmetics are great even on the 3300S which is 1972 vintage and the sound channeled through tube preamp and power amps and LaScala clones built by forum member Bluesboy is wonderful. Though my ears have some age on them the Maxell tapes and the Teacs sound as good as vinyl. Glad to know there are others who enjoy watching those big reels turn. I guess those who enjoy a more active role in music and equipment don't mind cleaning and demagnatizing heads and vacuuming LPs. I also like to use the Zerodust stylus cleaner. And you thought your life is exciting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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